sat down to read a whole bunch of FMLs at once and thought I'd reply to a
whole bunch of things...
 
that harness-ferret bondage issue again:  I posted on that the first time
around, and won't state my opinion again.  I will say however that Cully, a
ferret who has been known to take a pound or two of flesh in his time,
reacts to being scratched on the head, neck and shoulders by turning around
and vigorously licking for all he's worth.  All this without being tied up
for hours on end.
 
camping with ferrets: I have done this, and found it very stressful, mostly
for me but somewhat stressful for the ferret as well.  You will need a
cage-- your average ferret can dig its way out of your average tent, or
keep you up all night listening for the sound of claws on nylon.  Many
campgrounds have a no pets policy, and I found trying to keep a ferret a
secret very stressful (I know it's just a small taste of what some of you
must live with all the time!).  I also worried about skunks or raccoons
smelling my ferret and coming into the camp site to investigate, but then
again I'm a worrywort.  On the other hand, your ferret will probably have a
blast exploring all the new sights, sounds, and textures of the woods.  I
did try staking out Amelia, so that she could enjoy the great outdoors, but
she was very uncomfortable feeling exposed and trapped in a limited circle.
I put her carrier within reach, and there she stayed until un-staked.
Another tip-- be very sure that you have a good harness, not easily escaped.
Amelia slipped her harness while underground and had to be dug out (another
facet of ferret life I'm sure some of you deal with on a more regular basis
than I!).
 
pet shop fiascos: I don't know the particulars of what went on in any of
the stores mentioned, but I thought I'd point out that unfortunately store
employees are right to be suspicious of people picking up animals without
permission.  There are people who shoplift animals for various reasons, and
the store employees don't know you from Adam.  Or Eve.
 
Leslie wrote about her 13 week old Daggett biting: 13 weeks is still young
enough to be learning, IMHO.  Keep working with him, and he'll figure it
out.  I don't know about the mark he left-- but a bite can leave a mark for
a couple of days, even if the skin isn't broken.
 
Ann and Helga the biter: You said she was a spooky ferret?  Just give her a
couple of Marilyn Manson albums, leave her alone for a couple of months, and
she'll go through her little phase ;-) sorry, a bit of subculture humor.
Has anything changed recently in the house?  New ferrets or other pets or
people?  Maybe as she grows older and stronger she's thinking that she'll
see if she can redefine her boundaries.  Taking her to the vet for a check
up is a good idea.
 
hissing: I have two ferrets, and hissing means something different for each
of them.  When Amelia hisses, she's darned mad about something-- Cully
picking on her, food taken away, or she's mad that she's scared.  It's her
"leave me alone or I'm really gonna let you have it" sound.  Cully on the
other hand makes a hissy huffing sound when he plays instead of making
clucks or dooks.  So the meaning depends on the ferret or the situation the
hissing occurs in.
 
Much condolances to those who have lost ferrets recently-- sometimes it's
hard reading a bunch of FMLs all at once, because one's heart really goes
out to everyone.
 
To end what has got to be my longest post in years on a light note, here's
some nicknames:
 
Amelia: Amelia Bedelia, Little, Fierce Ferret, SnuggleBunny,
        Best Girl Weasel
Cully: Cully Monster, Big, Bananafish, Buttercup (because it's so completely
inappropriate!), Best Boy Weasel
 
Regina
 
Murder takes the wheel of the Cadillac
and Death climbs in the back...
                --Nick Cave, "Deanna"
 
[log in to unmask]
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/1083
[Posted in FML issue 2403]